Travel Tips for People Living With HIV

Introduction

Many of the newer HIV drugs have fairly easy dosing schedules. Compared to the "old days" when people living with HIV (HIV+) took handfuls of pills three and four times a day, some people are now fortunate enough to be able to take one or two pills just once or twice a day.

Whether you are taking one pill or several, from home or an exciting travel destination, it is still important to stick to your assigned dosing schedule. Traveling with your HIV drugs -- and staying on your schedule -- can seem a bit hard or scary at first, but HIV should not prevent anyone who needs to travel for work or wants to see old friends or new places from doing so. And once you get the hang of it, it can be quite easy to manage your meds while you are on the road.

Pack Your Pills First

It is one thing if you forget your socks, or your toothbrush, or even your mobile phone. You can replace those items when you reach your destination or you can get along without them. You can not get along without your HIV drugs, not even for a day, so pack them first -- and pack them carefully.

Count out your pills for how long you will be away and transfer them to appropriate containers. It is wise to take a two-day backup supply of your HIV drugs with you in case of any travel delays. At home you may use a subdivided multi-day plastic pillbox to hold all your drugs, but for travel it is often more convenient to carry your pills in something smaller, like sturdy, plastic bags that can be resealed, or a pocket-sized plastic tackle box. However, if you are traveling internationally or anywhere by plane, you should carry your meds in their original bottles clearly marked with the prescribing information so that security or customs will not give you too much trouble.

Pack your pills in a carry-on bag -- and nowhere else. There is no guarantee that your flight will depart on time or arrive on time or that checked baggage will be waiting for you at your destination.

If you carry your pills on board, you can take any doses you need while on the plane and you will be prepared to take additional doses later if there is any sort of travel delay. The airline may not be able to keep to its flying schedule, but you will be able to keep to your dosing schedule and that is the important thing.

Advertisement

Food and Water

The HIV drug regimen you are on may have dietary restrictions: certain pills should be taken on an empty stomach, others must be taken with a meal or snack, and all of them should be taken on schedule.

Not all airlines offer food on flights these days, and even if they do, there is no way of knowing when you will get fed on an airplane, or whether the food will be anything you want to eat. It is best to carry food with you if you need to eat when you take your medicine.

The same is true for water. If you are driving or taking a bus or train, you should bring your own. However, with some of the latest airport restrictions you may have to ask for water rather than take it on board with you. It may be possible to bring an empty water bottle through security and either fill it before your board or have a flight attendant fill it once you are on the plane.

Most of the time the flight attendants will help you out by bringing water right away if you mention that you need to take medicine. Asking for water as soon as you board the plane is a good plan. If you have ever flown across the country, you may have noticed how long it can take a group of flight attendants to get down the aisles of an airplane with a beverage for each passenger. You may find yourself with a very dry mouth and unable to swallow even a single pill, so it is important to ask for water in advance!

If you are flying, it is good to drink plenty of fluids anyway; the recycled air on airplanes is very dry and several hours of flying can be dehydrating. To varying degrees, dehydration (having too little water in your body) affects all passengers on long flights, and people living with HIV need to be especially careful that they do not allow themselves to get dehydrated. So take every opportunity to get a beverage and make a point of drinking throughout the flight, not simply when you feel thirsty.

Adjust your Dosing Schedule

Adjust your dosing schedule according to the number of time zones you cross. This sounds tricky, but it is actually quite simple.

West to East

As you travel from west to east, take the next dose of your HIV drugs one hour earlier than you usually do. If you fly from Los Angeles to New York, for example, you cross three time zones and after three slightly shorter dosing cycles you will be back on your normal schedule.

East to West

When you travel from east to west, you reverse this process -- adding an hour between dosing cycles. If you fly from London to Boston, for example, you cross five time zones and after five slightly longer dosing cycles you will be back on your normal schedule.

Taking your doses an hour earlier, or an hour later than usual falls well within the approved range for adherence to any dosing regimen.

North to South or South to North

When you travel north to south (or vice versa), there is no need to make any adjustments. Just stick to your regular dosing schedule, even on an 11-hour flight from the U.S. to Argentina.

Traveling Outside the Country

Do a little research about your destination. If you are going to another country, check if there are restrictions about visitors living with HIV or traveling with medications. You can find out about different countries' travel bans here. You may also want to take a set of written prescriptions.

If you travel to developing countries, you may be at a greater risk of getting cryptosporidiosis (an infection caused by a parasite; also an opportunistic infection) from contaminated food and water. The following are more likely to be contaminated in developing countries:

raw fruits and vegetables

tap water or ice made from tap water (it is best to drink filtered or boiled water, even when brushing your teeth)

unpasteurized milk or dairy products

items purchased from street vendors

It is important that you talk with your health care provider about other precautions you may want to take when you travel abroad, especially in developing countries (i.e. getting vaccines, bringing antibiotics). Often, getting vaccinated for hepatitis A is a good idea, if you have not been already. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a list of recommended immunizations for adults living with HIV that you can look at here. You may also want to check the World Health Organization's International Travel and Health page or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel website for useful information.

Reminders

It can be relatively easy to stick to your daily schedule of pill-taking when you are at home. You are in your usual place, your pills are in their usual place, and your routine is a familiar one. It can be harder to stick to your daily schedule of HIV drugs when you travel, especially when you travel to an unfamiliar destination.

To make sure you do not miss any of your doses or leave your HIV drugs behind, it helps to travel with brightly colored Post-It or sticky notes. Put them on the bathroom mirror, on the dresser top, on your suitcase, on your car keys, on your hotel or motel room key. Those flashes of bright color will remind you to take every dose of every one of your medications every day and they will remind you to take your pills with you when you leave.

If bright colors or sticky notes do not work for you, plan ahead and find what does. Perhaps your mobile phone can be set to alert you when you should take your pills. There are now many apps available that can track medications you've taken and generate reminders to take ones in the future. This link has several examples listed under the 'Medication Management and Compliance' section. Or perhaps you can get a friend to help you remember, whether she is traveling with you, calling you from back home, or sending your reminders via text or email. The important thing is not what form the reminders take -- only that they are effective and you take your HIV drugs on time.

Taking Care of Yourself

While planning ahead how you will stick to your regimen may seem like a hassle, it will make it easier when you are on the road. Good planning before you travel can help you relax and enjoy your trip. Even if you are on vacation, your HIV drugs still need to keep working! So, do not leave home without them!

This article was provided by The Well Project. Visit The Well Project's Web site to learn more about their resources and initiatives for women living with HIV. The Well Project shares its content with TheBody.com to ensure all people have access to the highest quality treatment information available. The Well Project receives no advertising revenue from TheBody.com or the advertisers on this site. No advertiser on this site has any editorial input into The Well Project's content.

(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Beforeadding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)

Please do not modify the following input field.

Your Name:

Your Location:

(ex: San Francisco, CA)

Your Comment:

Characters remaining:

Advertisement

The content on this page is free of advertiser influence and was produced by our editorial team. See our advertising policy.

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.